


Niche - A Mall AU

by shineelocket



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: (that ones new soooo I though I'd warn yah), Action/Adventure, M/M, Mall AU, Mystery, Niche - Freeform, Polyamory, Romance, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Violence, communal living, perhaps later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 13:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5667709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shineelocket/pseuds/shineelocket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael's friend Ray just got him an in on this crazy ass concept on communal living, a revamped mall called Niche. It's fancy and modern and Michael is loving the shit out of the place, but something seems a little weird about the other residents. With that eating at the back of his mind, Michael adjusts to this new life while working from home and falling hard core for the hot as fuck building manager, Ryan Haywood.</p><p>Chapter 6:<br/>"RYAN. Fuck! It's me, Michael!" His talking caused the knife to nick his throat. "It's your partner. Hey!" <br/>Ryan's knees had pressed each of Michael's arms into the bed, his arm ready to slit the soft flesh in front of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Too Bright For Any of This Shit

**Author's Note:**

> So mum, bestie and I always talk about renovating this dilapidated old mall we used to go to all the time into a communal living.. apartment? I couldn't help but think it would be an interesting setting for some fanfiction. I apologize in advance for all the descriptives.. it is base off a real place, I'll post some reference pictures on my tumblr for those needing help with it. Enjoy!

Michael stood at the entrance of the building. The large row of double glass doors showed the previous purpose of this apartment building, a very large, newly remodeled shopping mall. It was a new style of living, the only one in America so far. 

An abandoned old mall was bought by Big Money and transformed into a community style of living, exclusive and hard to get into. Michael was one of the lucky few who wasn't rich or "special", he just knew a guy. 

It was that kind of place.

Each store was turned into one or two apartments, the large department stores on the end of the building turned into parking garages or exclusive stores open for limited access to the outside public. The center courts were made into a living area and the previous fountain from decades ago was revived into a community swimming pool.

Some small food or coffee shops were allowed in the building for the convenience of the residents.

This strange new idea was a first, and maybe the only one ever of it's kind. It's a complex community simply known as Niche. 

Michael held a plain white keycard in his hand, his name in gold etched on one side. He spaced out staring at the reflection of the interior lights glinting off his name. He wasn't nervous, per se. A light, fluffy feeling engulfed his insides in an excitement he had trouble naming, but he was quite sure he wasn't nervous, or scared, of the strange new lifestyle he was assuming nor the imposing large east hall opposite the glass doors. 

Damn, his fingers were getting cold. 

Michael tapped the card against the RFID reader next to one of the doors and watched the red LED turn green. Grasping the freezing handle of the door, he swung himself inside into the middle corridor before another row of glass doors. These had no lock, merely separating the outside environment from the climate controlled interior. 

"Welcome home, Mr. Jones." 

Michael started. 'Well,' he thought, 'that's fancy as hell.' 

He opened the next door, notably a comfortably warm handle and stepped past the entrance into the hall. The instructions he received in his residence confirmation letter informed him of a welcoming station on first floor. Where the fuck that was, he wasn't sure.

A TV screen lit up in front of him. 

"Mr. Jones." the crisp audio sounded from a monitor hung from the ceiling by a 10 foot pole, about 20 feet in front of the outside doors. "Welcome to Niche. My name is Ryan Haywood and I am the Director of Resident affairs."

Michael looked up to see a mid-thirties looking man with a slightly receding hairline and a charming smile looking down at him from above. 

"Uh..." was the eloquent reply. 

The man chuckled. "I'm here to assist you with settling in today. First and foremost, let's meet face to face. Please continue down the hall and make a left, follow the path into the Main Atrium and take the escalators down. Resident services is directly in front." 

Michael plotted the route in his head before nodding at the screen, feeling a little silly. He wasn't used to this video conferencing... thing. "Ok, I'll uh.." He made a jerking motion with his head. "..head that way then."

"I'll see you soon, Mr. Jones." The man smiled and nodded before the screen transitioned into a symbol, the letter "n" with a square in the middle. 

There was only one direction to go so Michael followed the stone walkway around to the left, the large East Wing opened up to his view. 

It was bright. 

The skylights remained as the main source of lighting from the building's mall days. The railing to his right looked sturdy, but modernly thin. To his left were sleek, off-white walls with large windows inset, though he couldn't see inside them. It still looked a bit like a shopping mall. 

Soon his steps brought him around, and to the right a bit, to the escalators, leading to the Main Atrium. Everything was spacious and well lit. It currently smelled of coffee and he could hear laughter in the distance. He hadn't see any people yet, but it was barely past sunrise on a Monday morning. 

Michael grasped the conveyer handrail and let the descending stairs bring him to the first floor. He could see a man sitting at a table outside of a coffee shop to his left, grumbling to a woman who only laughed at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Jones." The professional voice called out from in front of him. "I see you've found your way."

"Yeah, wasn't hard. By the way, Mr. Jones is so.. please just call me Michael." He walked up to a freestanding black counter. 

"Then by all means, call me Ryan." His tone warmed and his smile deepened. "Are you ready to see your apartment? I've got things moved in and ready for your first day at Niche."

"Yeah, it's on the second floor, right? I requested something close to a convenience store." 

"Two doors down from one. It's in the North Wing, not too far from the main escalators."

"Perfect, convenience all around." Michael gestured a circle with hands. "Can I go on up?"

Ryan paused. "We have a couple things to address, then we can set you off." Michael noticed the way sun from the skylights was lighting up the man's dirty blonde hair. He was very friendly and practically radiated a nice guy persona. He briefly wondered what the man was like outside of work. Maybe once you knew him he was a total smartass. Then again, not everyone had a sense of humor like Michael.

"Ok. Sign some papers, grab some keys, then go up and crash. I'm tired as hell and can't wait to finally go get some sleep." Michael stifled a yawn, the kind you get from even thinking about being tired, and scratched the side of his face. All the packing he's done and the road trip South from Jersey had him exhausted. 

"Oh, well." The man- Ryan, frowned. "Then we can take care of it later this evening. Let me get your keycard set up and I'll get you off to bed." 'You can take me to bed anytime, yah handsome motherfucker.' Michael thought but kept his mouth tightly shut. He couldn't keep a grin from forming on his face.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the card then set it on the granite counter. "Great, I'll get up at noon or something and come back down."

Ryan placed the card on a square and did something on a computer to the side. It beeped. "All set. Simple and done. I'll show you the way this time." He passed through a cutout in the side of his enclosure and stood in front of Michael. 

Ryan was tall and broad shouldered. Handsome and mostly in shape, yet a little soft around the edges. His gray, button down shirt was tucked into black slacks with a matching black tie. He looked professional but approachable. Seemed perfect for customer relations. Michael felt shabby in the jeans and black hoodie he wore.

"Follow me back up the escalator, Michael." The newly coded keycard in hand, he turned and set back towards the same escalator that Michael had come down.

They made their way up and turned left, walking one hundred feet or so to a convenience store on the right. "This is the Middle Market, it's open 24/7. You can usually find Jeremy or Matt working there, nice guys. I think you'll get along. Both live together opposite you on the other side." Michael could see a guy with a beard leaning on the counter inside, he seemed to be watching a TV hung in the corner of the market.

Ryan continued on. "As promised, two doors down and here we go. Room N211. Welcome to your new home, Michael." He gestured grandly to a reflective glass door with his room number etched on the front."

"Fucking yes. Sleep." Michael watched as Ryan touched the card to the reader to the right of the door, and heard the slight whirr of a lock sliding open. 

Ryan handed him the keycard and locked eyes with him. "Get some sleep, but please make sure to see me this evening. If you need anything at all, simply say Niche Services loudly enough for the room's sensors to pick up and it'll connect you directly to my comm." He slid a small tablet out of his back pocket. "I'll do my best to help."

"Thanks, man." Michael nodded. Ryan opened the door, gesturing the younger man in. "I'll see you tonight, Ryan."

The man grinned. "It's a date." and let the door shut.

Michael stared at the door, he could see Ryan on the other side, still smiling as he walked away. "Did he just flirt with me?" Sleep pried his thoughts away from the charming man. "Fuck it, bed. Now."

He turned to see a comfortable looking living room with his old furniture already set up. A large TV to the left and a couch to the right. It was an open floor plan with a kitchen beyond the living area and a hallway beyond that. He started that way, glancing into a bathroom on the left and went instead to the bedroom on the right. His dresser and nightstand were in place, his bed centered below a wall sconce directly across from him already made up and ready to be used. 

Michael immediately stripped down to his boxers, through back the covers and passed out. Fuck setting an alarm, he'll wake up when he's rested. The lights dimmed in the entire apartment, but Michael didn't notice. He was already fast asleep.


	2. Not A Date But A Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael wakes up to a note from Ryan and finds out more of his predicament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot damn! My job went sour, lost that job, got a new one and now I have free time and creativity again! Writing chapter 3 right now.

Chapter 2:

Michael opened his eyes. Something had woken him, but he wasn't sure what. A noise, maybe?  
He sat up and glanced around the room. His bedroom lights were slowly brightening; adjusting with his sleep worn vision as he fully woke up.

"Ah, man... What time is it?" Michael rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Purple numbers popped up mid-air across the room.

*The time is now 6:54 pm. Good evening, Michael.* A soothing voice spoke to him. It sounded male.

Michael was a bit impressed. This was new to him; Holographic Home Display Assistants were hella expensive which is just a little out of range of his previous budget. By thousands. He’d always wanted to play around with one of these.

“What’s the weather doing?” Clouds formed near the ceiling, small snowflakes fell and disappeared a foot above Michael’s head.

The voice replied again. *It’s 29 degrees Fahrenheit with light snow. It’s expected to snow until morning.* The manifested weather faded out of existence.

“Not bad, now-" Michael grinned. “-show me porn.”

A flicker of light then a woman was standing in front of his bedroom door. Well, standing in the way a puppet would bounce up and down on its stick. It was realistic and loud and he couldn’t wait ‘till late into the night to use this amazing feature.

“Enough of that. I need to be getting up for.. something.” His brain still hadn’t woken up it seemed.

*A reminder has been sent to you from Mr. Haywood.* An envelope with the letter “H” on the front spun in front of him. Michael reached out to take the envelope but stopped as it unfolded itself. A golden voice resonated throughout the room. It was Ryan’s.

“Michael, please do not forget to see me this evening. Any time before 10 pm is fine. Your comm should be in the living room, ask it and it will navigate you to my current location. See you soon.” The envelope dissolved into smoke. Michael thought it a bit dramatic.

“OK.” He ruffled his messy hair with his hands. “That’s what I was forgetting.” He sighed. Paperwork didn’t sound exciting and he didn’t want to get up and dressed, but the idea of seeing Ryan again wasn’t awful.

Michael stood up and rooted around in his dresser drawers until he pulled out some fresh clothes, a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt with asterisked cursing across the front and some socks. Putting those on he searched for shoes, trying the closet he was presented with a wall of imbedded shoe shelves. All of his shoes were perfectly lined up with a spotlight shining on each pair.

“I am NOT used to this fancy shit.” He grabbed some grey plaid vans. “Don’t mind if I do.”

He stepped over the dirty clothes from that morning and walked down the hall to the living room. His previous furniture was sitting there but it looked so much nicer surrounded by lush carpets and precisely placed lighting.

A tablet was lying on the coffee table.

Michael plopped down on the couch, dropping his shoes on the floor and grabbed the comm, resting it on his stomach. There weren’t any buttons that he could find so he repeatedly tapped the screen. It lit up at his touch, displaying a dashboard of current information: weather, date, current Niche activities and more. He wasn’t really sure what to do. Ryan’s message said to “ask” the comm about his location. Didn’t hurt to try?

“Comm, do you know where Ryan is?” A moment of silence.

*He is currently in his office, on the first floor. Shall I alert him of your inquiry?*

“Uh, sure? I’m headed that way.” Michael glanced at his shoes. “Give it a minute before you tell him so I can get down there.”

*Absolutely.* Silence again.

He sat the comm back down and slipped on his shoes. Time to figure this place out. He stepped towards the one-way glass door when a thought struck him, Ryan kept his comm on him. Maybe you needed it here? He glanced back at the tablet sitting on the table, it wasn’t that big. Maybe 7 inches? That would fit in his pocket. A dick joke came to mind.

Scooping up the tablet he pushed open the front door and stepped into the North 2 wing. It was dark outside but decently bright inside. Overhead spotlights lit the main building and inset floor lights lit the path.

*Michael.* He jumped. *Turn left and head towards the escalators.* The comm spoke without provocation.

“Oh, you have navigation. Alright. Scared the fuck out of me, but OK.” Michael did as told. A little ways down he stopped by the Middle Market. A different guy was behind the counter, a shorter one than the last. He was chatting with a thin blonde guy but he couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Might as well say hi.

Michael passed through the open entryway behind some shelves to the counter. “Heyo!” Ought to start out friendly here. “My name’s Michael and I just moved in.”

“Oh! Michael!” The taller blonde was overly enthusiastic. “I’ve heard of you! My boi Ray said his friend was joining our little Niche crew.” He jut out his hand to Michael. “The name’s Gavin. Gavin Free.” Michael took his hand.

“What are you, James Bond? Who introduces themselves like that?” The man behind the counter made fun of his friend. “I’m Jeremy, by the way.” He waved.

Michael let go of Gavin’s hand and waved back. “Nice to meet you two.”

‘Yeah, same’ and ‘tippy toppers’ were their replies.

“So, uh..” Gavin was suddenly more serious. “Have you talked to Ray yet?”

“Not yet, I got here and passed the fuck out. Just woke up but I’ve got to go sign some shit with Ryan.” Michael shrugged.

The others exchanged glances then Jeremy looked back to Michael. “You mean Mr. Haywood? I’ve never heard anyone call him by his first name.”

Gavin nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s odd.”

“Well, he said it was fine. I told him to call me Michael and he said to do the same.” The room was quiet for a beat.

"Were you flirting, Michael?" Jeremy grinned. "I mean, Resident Affairs doesn't mean *guest services* if you get my drift."

Michael feigned shock. “Wow, never-" Maybe. "-but aren’t you a peachy piece of shit pie.” The weird atmosphere lifted at their joking.

“Actually,” Gavin whipped back to Jeremy. “Do you have any pie? Sounds heavenly at the moment.”

Jeremy dead-stared back at him. “We run a convenience store. Why would we have pies?”  
Bickering commenced.

*Michael. It has been more than a minute. I’ve alerted Mr. Haywood that you are on your way.*

“Oh, OK. I guess I’ll get going then guys.”

The two barely glanced towards him.

“See yah later, Michael!” Gavin smiled at him. “-AND! They do have pies back in England!”

“Nah, I’m sure they’re an American thing, bro.” Jeremy goaded him on.

Michael laughed at the two idiots and walked back out into the main thoroughfare, the escalators were right in front of him. He stood on the right set and went down, the Resident Services station was empty at the bottom. Made sense if Ryan was in his office.

*Walk forward approximately 400 feet to the end of the corridor. Then turn left.*

“God this place is fucking gigantic.”

When Michael rounded the corner he stopped to take in the black wall in front of him. Floor to ceiling black glass, so reflective he could see his self, stretched down the hallway and around the corner. A door inset with the Niche symbol waited for Michael to stop staring.

*You have arrived.* 

Everything was so modern Michael felt like it would take him a hot minute to adjust. The décor, the technology- it was very different than his parent’s house in Jersey.

The door swung open. Ryan was standing there, waving cheerfully. “Come in Michael, this won’t take long.”

“You mean our date?” Michael quipped.

“Of course!” Ryan grinned. “I’ve already lit the scented candles.”

The two walked through the door into a surprisingly welcoming office. It was long, not deep, with warm wood floors and leather chairs in front of a wooden desk. There was one candle lit on a shelf behind it.

“You weren’t joking, huh?” Michael sat down in the maroon chair, Ryan on the other side.

“Well, you know..” The sentence drifted off into chuckling. “Alright, Michael, I have some forms for you to fill out. Standard information, same stuff as the application form actually. They want this stuff in triplicate.”

“Sounds like the usual corporate bullshit, yup.” Michael took the pages and an offered pen and set to filling out the endless questions about his life.

Ryan picked up another stack of papers and leaned back in his chair. “Now, the price is something we need to talk about.”

The pen stopped as Michael looked up. “Yeah uh, Ray said I’d get a hell of a discount through him. Some ‘invite your friends’ bonus?”

“Not quite, more of a favor I’m doing for him.” Ryan looked up from the papers in his hands. “He, himself does quite a bit for me. Most of the technology in this place is maintained by him in his off hours. I was looking for something similar from you, along with the portion Mr. Narvaez is paying himself.”

“Wait, what? On both things." Michael tried to process this. "So, I've got to work to get some kind of discount AND Ray is paying for some?"

"Firstly, work is minimal. A few hours throughout a given week. Secondly, Mr. Narvaez agreed to pay precisely half. With the earnings from his day job, it's nothing for him. In time, you may take over completely if you wish."

"And *precisely* how much is Ray paying?"

Ryan looked up for a moment. "$3000."

"Shit! How much is this going to cost me? I was told to expect about a thousand. And wait, it's $6000 a month for this room? Where's he getting this much? I-"

"Michael." Ryan set the papers from his hand across from him. "This explains things on paper. $3000 a month from Mr. Narvaez and $3000 in earned credits per month from you. There would be no out of pocket expense."

"I, ok, that makes sense. Ish. Kinda shady if you ask me, though."

Ryan flashed an award winning smile. "Nothing shady, Michael. Just business."

Michael thought about it quietly for a few seconds. It was a little weird, the whole thing, but he'd known Ray for a long time. He wouldn't drag him into some weird scheme, right?

"Alright, I'll give. This place is pretty amazing and I'd like to live here.. Even if it requires some extra effort. So, what would I be doing?"

Ryan leaned back again. "I've been giving that some thought all evening." 

"You didn't know what you wanted me to do?" Michael was confused.

"I had a few ideas, but after meeting you I've reconsidered." Ryan wasn't looking at Michael anymore, focusing on the papers he had lain in front of him.

Michael set down the pen and picked up the papers.

"Assistant Coordinator?" 

"Yes." Ryan was smiling again. "Basically, you would be my assistant."

The heater kicked on with a thrum, the loudest noise in the office.

"Am I qualified for that?" His lack of experience had Michael wondering if he could pull off a job like this.

"No." 

"No.." Michael stared, dumbfounded. 

"I would provide..." Ryan paused. "...training. I like you and am willing to make this work."

Michael felt awkward. He couldn't tell if Ryan was back to flirting or what. His blue eyes had Michael pinned, watching intently for his answer. Not that Michael minded him staring. Working closely with someone so good looking wouldn't be so bad.. 

"Ok, so training. What do I do? Like some paperwork or some shit?" 

Ryan shook his head. "Less paperwork, more errands and helping out other residents."

"At a few hours a week."

"Precisely. It would be salary, so no overtime, but if you only worked three hours you would still make the three thousand needed for your rent. Basically, you would be living here as a contractor. Like Jeremy and Matt, though they work full time and split rent."

"Oh yeah, met Jeremy just before coming down here. Kind of an asshole." Michael added. "I like him."

Ryan laughed. As he did, an envelope materialized in the air to his left. It was black with a gray broken circle across it. 

"Actually, Michael, you would be dealing with these." Ryan gestured to the envelope with his eyes. "I can show you what the job would entail if you would like, and make your decision after that."

Michael considered this, it seemed fair. "Ok, deal. Show me how to do it, boss man."

A light ding sounded from the envelope, reminding the room that it was still there. Ryan reached out a finger and flicked the edge, causing it to spin and unfold. Michael was delighted and didn't know why. 

A man's voice started, then cracked. "Hey Ryan! I, uh, fucked up a bi-t uh.." He sounded guilty. "So yeah, I was drinking in the pool just now and dropped my ring and I uh, didn't want to bother you so I opened the retrieving box.. thing on the side of the pool and kinda dropped my glass and it broke." 

Michael was shaking his head. This man sounded like a damn idiot. 

"So I was going to clean it up but a lot of it fell in the water and now I can't find it. Could you uh.. do that? I mean find it? ...I think it's time to hit the 'ol sack. Thanks man!"

The envelope burst into flames and dissolved. Apparently these things were customed. 

Michael heard Ryan sigh, the most casual thing he had done so far. 

"Geoff would be a good example of some of the more extreme problems we deal with." Ryan breathed deeply for a second. 

"Alright, now we reply." Ryan spoke louder than before. "Comm, send a message to Geoff Ramsey." There was a light chiming sound. "Good evening, Geoff. No worries about the glass, I'll clean it up immediately. The pool will be ready for your morning beverages. Enjoy your evening. Comm, end the message." Another chime. 

"So we're going to go swimming?" Michael didn't want to jump in a pool at the moment, he hadn't eaten and that usually makes him nauseous in a pool. 

"No, we'll drain the pool and ensure the glass is completely removed." Ryan raised his voice again. "Comm, close down the pool. Post a notice about cleaning due to Geoff's inability to not drop shit."

Michael laughed. "That's one way of doing it."

"We go way back, he'll think it's hilarious." Ryan shook his head. "Alright, let's do this so we can finish your paperwork."

"Sounds like some fine shit to me!" Michael stood and was followed by Ryan out the glass door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geoff cracks me up, omg. Also, Michael isn't sure what he's getting himself into and still hasn't seen Ray. But next chapter-!!! See you soon!


	3. It's A Lot To Take In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael meets with Ryan in his office to sign some shit and ends up trying out his new job. Assisting? Is this what he signed up for?

Niche Chapter 3:

The pool wasn't far, in the center courts near the escalators. Michael was walking to the right of Ryan chatting about how different Niche was from his home back in Jersey.

"A world's difference, man. Night and day. I mean home is home and my family is there, but this place is NICE." Ryan was politely listening. 

"Indeed it is, we put a lot of effort into sustaining and building upon the precedent of Niche living." Ryan glanced at Michael. "We strive to keep our residents as satisfied as possible." 

Michael's breath hitched. Was it flirting? Does Ryan realize he says things so suggestively? 

"I, uh, bet you do a good job." His voice faltered. 

"Absolutely." 

There was an awkward silence. 

Michael could see the pool gate now, a man stood in front of it laughing. He shook his head and walked off towards the escalators. 

"A lot of people use the pool?" Michael desperately changed the subject. 

"A few each day, highly frequented by Geoff and Gavin. The man you see leaving is Jack, a right hand man of sorts for Geoff." Ryan sighed. "Probably came to pick him up, Geoff drinks heavily. Often."

He's a drunk. That explains the ring and broken glass. 

"So this isn't a rare occurrence." Michael groaned. 

"It's unfortunately common, about once a week I've got to drain the pool and clean out glass." Ryan looked put upon. "It's usually Geoff... almost always Geoff." The two shared a look. "Alright, it's always Geoff. Gavin hasn't done it once and holds it above him."

Michael laughed loudly. It echoed off the high ceiling and he could hear his voice reverberated back. He stopped and quickly looked at Ryan with a guilty expression. "Sorry, that was fucking loud."

Michael's breath hitched for a moment at Ryan's smile, he looked so endearingly at him that it hurt a little. He expected almost any other reaction but this. 

"Michael." Ryan was calling him out of stupor. How long had he been staring at Ryan's face? "Ready to help?" 

For an awkward moment Michael stood in front of the open gate staring at Ryan. "Oh shit, yeah just trailed off there I guess. What are we doing? Draining the pool?" Smooth recovery. Kind of. 

Ryan walked around the edge of the glittering blue water to a panel inset in a wall. A small storage building by the looks of it stood in the corner of the gated pool. 

"Yes! It's very quick, a new system we've just installed." He touched the screen brining up an interface and pressed a red arrow. "It's completely absorbent concrete. When activated it allows all liquids to pass through it to a collections system below. Everything else is left dry in the pool."

"No drains." Michael queried. 

Ryan nodded. "No clogs. No glass to dig out of drain caps. No bleeding fingers."

Michael laughed again. "Technology meeting a need. I'm guessing that was pretty common."

"Oh god, too often." 

Ryan stood next to Michael as the water was absorbed into the bottom of the pool. There wasn't really a noise so neither paid much attention. Ryan raised his hand.

"These little scars are from Geoff's little messes." He flipped his hand palm up. "These are from his uh-ohs." Michael seized an opportunity and held the large hand in his own to 'inspect' it. 

"Why don't you use gloves or something? Jesus dude." Michael slid his own fingers down the light scars across the palm, then to the deep looking once under the thumb. "This one looks awful."

Ryan quickly pulled away his hand. "Got that one doing something else. Too embarrassing to say. Yes." He held it to his side. "Looks like the pool is done draining, grab a broom would you, in the closet there." He stepped down the pool entrance and started looking around. 

Michael stared for a second, he must of hit a nerve. Maybe literally? Best to move on. He slid open the door to the small building and found a trash can, broom and dust bin. The broom had Geoff's name written on it in sharpie. Michael couldn't help but laugh again, these people were too messed up. He loved it.

"Found it!" 

Michael started at the yell, turned around and joined Ryan at the edge of the pool. He was holding up a gold ring. 

"Nice! Guess I'll clean since you did the hard part." Michael could see glass scattered around Ryan's feet. 

"It's fine, I'll help. Let me look for glass and you sweep." Ryan pocketed the ring and started looking intently at the light blue concrete. 

Twenty minutes later Michael was cussing Geoff out. "Is there more? That right there, shit yes, mother fucker! Geoff is never allowed glass in the pool again this is some bullshit!"

Ryan was laughing this time. "Yes, that is the common agreement yet he still manages to sneak glasses in. Something about it tasting better in glass than plastic." He ran his hand through his hair after dumping the last of the glass in the bin and closing the door behind him. "I wouldn't know though, don't drink."

"Really? Nothing at all?" Ryan was shaking his head 'no'. "Not even a beer after cleaning up stupid shit like this?"

"It's never been my thing, I like all my faculties in suit thank you." 

Michael shrugged. "To each their own. I myself enjoy a bev or two. Wouldn't mind one now." He glared at the empty pool. 

"Not on the clock, Michael." Ryan turned back to the display and hit a blue arrow this time, to fill the pool Michael presumed. Water jetted out of holes in the side of the pool, it was actually a pretty display to watch it fill.

While Michael watched the water slowly rise he felt a warm hand on his back. "This will automatically stop when full and it takes a while. Let's go return Geoff's ring to him and be done with this request." 

"Oh yeah, forgot about that part. I was so pissed off by the glass." Michael paused with thought. "I uh, my language. I'm sorry if it was a bit.. loud." Guilt racked at his chest, his behavior wasn't very professional. 

"No worries, people are very laid back here. You'll find you fit in well." The warm hand rubbed gently along his shoulder blades. It actually felt really nice.

"Oh thank god." Michael deflated a little. Cussing was speaking naturally for Michael, it would be the end of this job option if he had to hold it in completely. Maybe he should try to cut back some just in case. 

The two walked out the gate and Michael noticed the sign on the gate had changed back to pool hours from the note Ryan had set before. 

"So how do I know where his room is?" Michael was stopped in front of the escalators. 

"Well, you'll eventually learn it. There's only about 20 residences active in Niche. But-" Ryan held up his comm. "-you can always ask your comm for people's locations"

"So everyone knows where everyone's at, at all times?" This sounded uncomfortably 'big brother' to Michael. 

"No, it's on a permissions basis. The average resident is told a floor number and area, you and I are given specifics." 

"That's why I could find out where you were earlier."

Ryan nodded. "Exactly. Try asking about Geoff."

Michael pulled his comm out of the back pocket of his jeans and stared at it. This felt dumb. He felt like he was talking to himself using it. "Uh, comm.." It lit up to the home screen. "Where is Geoff right now?" 

A slight pause. *Geoff Ramsey is currently in his residence on the second floor, Room 203.*

"I will not find that. What." Michael was trying to find a map on his comm, no luck. 

"I'll send you a map including maintenance passages later, for now just follow me." Ryan turned and stepped onto the upward moving escalators. Michael tucked his comm away and followed. 

"Oh, so hallways only we can use?" Scandalous thoughts came to mind.

"Any Level 3 Niche employee can enter. There are some maintenance areas only Level 2 and above can use. That would be you and I, Michael."

They rounded the corner, a different wing than the one Michael lived in and stopped in front of glass double doors. 'Geoff Ramsey' was etched in the glass across the center. 

"My door doesn't have that, do I get that? Fancy as fuck." Michael felt that itch of jealousy he got too often. 

"Don't worry, it's usually added to the residents door within a week of moving in. Pick a font and I'll make sure it's done, personally." Ryan's hand was patting his shoulder. 

"Good. I'll choose one ASAP." Michael grinned. "I hate being left out."

He turned to the doors in front of him. "Am I guessing right that the double doors means a double bedroom?" A nod came from Ryan. "So triple doors for a suite?"

Ryan's laugh was warm and Michael loved it. He made a silent vow to hear more of it. "No, Michael. It's still a double for a three bedroom." Changing gears he motioned to the reader to the right of the door. 

"If you hold up your keycard it'll unlock the door immediately, but given these are people's homes I like to offer some inclination of privacy. Touch the reading pad with your hands and it'll alert the people inside." He lightly tapped the pad. "It also acts as an intercom." 

After a few moments one of the doors swung open. It wasn't Geoff but the previous man Michael had seen by the pool, Jack was it? A light music was playing from somewhere inside. 

"Ryan, what can I do for yah?" Jack had changed into sweat pants and a tshirt. He looked a little ruffled. Ryan slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the ring. The gold glinted beautifully with a black inset 'N' on one side. 

"I've found Geoff's ring, and along with the the help of my new assistant, Michael, we've cleaned up the pool and refilled it again." Ryan honestly just looked annoyed. 

Jack took the ring and smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, Ryan. I'm trying to change all of our glasses to plastic but he still pulls them out of thin air." Michael was standing there quietly but jumped a little when Jack faced him. "Sorry to put this on you, Michael. Thanks for cleaning up that idiot's mess."

"Oh, no problem! Part of the job and all." Michael didn't know what else to say. He waved his hands in front of him. 

Jack waved at them both then stepped inside. The music stopped. The rooms must be somewhat soundproof. 

"And, we're done. Easy, right?" Ryan was walking back towards the escalators. "After a task is complete you can mark it off on your comm. The only info it receives is the sender so please indicate what happened and the resolution in your notes. Please have all notes finished by the end of the day." 

Michael figured he could do that pretty well, he was organized about this kind of stuff. "Can do, boss man." Ryan turned as they descended the stairs. 

"Boss man?" 

"Eh, I dunno. Should I only call you Ryan?" His conversation with Gavin and Jeremy came to mind. "Actually, some others said no one calls you that, only Mr. Haywood. Should, I be doing that?" He was feeling really unsure, maybe he was overstepping a line and didn't know it. 

The two were standing at the Resident Services station. 

"They do, only you call me Ryan." Michael swallowed. Shit, he messed up somewhere. 

"I'm sorry I mixed up something, I'll call you Mr. Haywood. Sorry." It was cringeworthy, the way Michael stuttered around his apology.

Ryan had this shit eating grin that Michael had not seen him use. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. I call you Michael, it only seems fair." Ryan's hand was back at Michaels shoulder. In a few hours he had become so touchy. Not that Michael minded. 

"We're coworkers now, I'm your boss but we're really about the same. Don't worry about it and use whatever feels best. Nicknames are endearing, I like them." 

"You shit, you enjoyed watching me squirm!" Michael wasn't honestly mad. Couldn't be mad at this golden god. "Alright, you got it, Ry." Ryan's hand left his shoulder and messed through the brown curls on top his head. "Sounds good, curly."

Michael swatted his hand away. "Oh god no, not that."

Ryan laughed at him, again. "Fine fine, I'll see you tomorrow. Remember we're on call so until we have a message you have no need of me. Enjoy your time and live normally. Meet some people and relax, ok?" Michael nodded. 

"When the first one of the day comes through, come meet me and we'll do one more day together. After that, you're on your own. Got it?"

"Got it, see you later then?" Michael watched Ryan start back towards his office. 

"Of course. We'll finish the last of your paperwork tomorrow, if no messages come we'll see each other for that at least." 

"Ok, goodnight!" Michael felt cheesy but the idea of seeing Ryan every day was endearing and made his chest bubble with something like joy. 

"Goodnight." Ryan winked and walked away. 

Oh, butterflies in his stomach. Michael had a fucking crush and didn't mind it at all. He hadn't felt like this in years. It wasn't too late so he decided to hang out in the middle area for a while and maybe think about what all of this means. This all was a huge change in his life and he felt like he needed to process it a bit.

He was near the pool and could see beyond it to a giant tv, easily seen behind the short fence around the pool parameter. He started around the service station desk and then the pool. There was a giant living area with tons of plants and pillows and a huge 'U' shaped couch set in front of the tv. The tv itself was a projection in between to large glass plates. It could be seen in either direction, so it was in between the pool and living area. This was a place, Michael thought, he could really relax. 

He chose the middle of the giant couch, maybe each side was twenty feet long, and nestled himself in the middle of a few pillows and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't see stars, but it was dark beyond the huge sky lights that made up a majority of the middle area of Niche. The low lights and light volume of the tv had Michael feeling dozy. 

He took this attention to the tv. It was slightly see through if he focused hard enough but it had a clear picture. A cooking show was demonstrating a grilling technique done using skillets and the broiling option on a stove. It looked so damn good. Oh, Michael realized he hadn't eaten and was starving. 

He mindlessly watched the steak sizzling away on the tv for a while. This wasn't all that different from the days he lived in his parents house. Nothing crazy going on, just chilling watching cooking shows until late into the night. He kind of missed it and it had only been a couple days. 

Things were so different here, he wasn't quite comfortable but it was only day one, technically. Things would become normal, this technology would become old hat to him. Maybe seeing Ray would make him feel better. They hadn't talked much since Ray moved south from New York. He figured they would become fast friends again living in the same building now. 

He had started to doze off. Something scratched at the back of his mind - food. Hunger. That's right, he was hungry. Michael reached back and slapped at his butt until he pulled his comm out of his pocket. 

"Comm, I'm hungry. Is there any food place open right now?" He hadn't even thought to check his kitchen yet. Needed to buy food..

*The Restaurant Noir is open until 1 am. Shall I take an order for you?* 

Michael was starting to love this thing, so handy. "No, I want to really look at the menu. But uh.. can I have directions?"

*Directions to Restaurant Noir, walk fifty feet toward the Resident Service Station then fifteen past that. Noir is on the right.*

"Ok, that's good enough, thanks." The comm was silent, that must of completed the navigation on it so he wouldn't be bothered by it speaking directions. 

"Up and at em, I guess." He rolled off the couch taking a pillow with him. "Off yah go." He tossed the pillow back on and headed around the tv and towards the escalators. 

Oh, this place. That morning when Michael arrived he remembers seeing two people sitting outside of it having coffee. It looked fancy as anything else, all blacks and golds and and luxurious leather. Yet it had a comfortable feel. A light piano was playing. 

He went past the outside tables through a large wooden door into the actual restaurant. There were booths set up down one side with tables in the middle, a large wooden bar on the left. A man behind the counter greeted him. 

"Good evening. Oh, a new face!" The man was middle aged, in decent shape and very friendly looking. He walked around the end of the bar and met Michael at the front. 

"I'm Bernie, the bartender who also does serving in the late evening. Mostly because my coworker is lazy and is taking a nap in back." He glanced towards what looked like a kitchen behind the bar. "Are you Michael? Ray was just talking about his friend moving in." He made a thumb jerking movement behind him. "He's just sat down a bit ago, want to join him?"

"Uh, yeah, hi. I'm Michael." He was flustered, unused to people he's never met knowing who he was. "Yeah I'll join if he's cool with it."

"Then follow me, Michael!" He waved his arm and started to a booth in the back. "Hey, Ray! Your friend Michael just showed up, what are the chances? We were just talking about him."

Michael rounded the booth and there was Ray, looking comfortable in an old hoodie and holding a drink. "Michael! Man, sit down and join me. Dinners on me, fuck I haven't seen you in ages!"

Michael sat opposite of him. 

"I'll go put in your order, Ray, and give Michael some time to look over the menu." He gestured to a screen on the wall with pictures of food steaming and glistening beautifully across it. Michael's stomach growled. 

When Bernie walked off Ray laughed. "Guess he wanted to let us catch up, we put our orders in on the screen." He gestured to the wall. 

"Yeah," Michael smiled. "We have a lot to talk about. I have so many questions."

Ray's smile lessened but he didn't look away from Michael. "Shoot away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, so many excuses for not updating. Regardless, having fun with this. Writing mostly in the evenings or weekends so hoping part 4 by next weekend. Wish me luck!


	4. Hungry in More Ways Than One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael joins Ray for dinner and learns a bit more about Niche cohabitations. Afterwards he heads home to enjoy a new kind of porn. Nsfw but for real, you're probably sitting on the toilet reading this. 7 min reading time is perfect for a poo.

Niche Chapter 4:

Michael bit into the burger he ordered. It was juicy and had these grilled pepper things on it and it was the best thing he had eaten in a long time. 

"Fuck me, this is an amazing burger." Michael shoved a few fries into his mouth and resumed tearing apart the 'Zingy Dragon Burger'. "Whoever named it was stupid but whoever made it was genius!"

Ray glanced towards the kitchen. "One in the same. Gus is kind of a special guy but damn can he cook. Burnie, too, grills like a master." He leaned back slipping lower in the booth. "I'm getting so fat and it's so worth it."

Michael got the last of the ketchup with a fry. "I could definitely get used to this shit." He wiped his fingers on a black napkin. 

"It's so much better than Taco Bell everyday."

"But you know, Ray, for the price of this place it better be top-fucking-notch."

Ray pulled a noncommittal expression. "Eh, it's all inclusive. You figure out the money stuff with Haywood?"

"Yeah." Michael threw his napkin at the table. "About that."

Ray laughed. "Wellll, I figured you wouldn't like the back-assward way I had to get you in. I'm paying half so you know, it won't be so bad."

"You're fucking right I don't like it. How do you make so much money? Like fuck, thousands?" 

"This place is easy to make money in. I just make some tech and sell it to them. It's kind of a thing." Ray shrugged. 

"What kind of things? I didn't know you could do anything more than say, fix my broken Xbox." Michael leaned on the table. This was a side of his friend he had never heard of. 

"Well, tech stuff." Ray thought for a moment. "Oh, like the tv in there. I heard of an OLED display that powers each pixel and figured out a way to make that much, much larger. Sold it to Niche for an easy $50,000." Michael blanched at the amount. 

"Fuck that's a lot. Wait, it's not a projection screen?"

"Nah. Oh yeah, I fix some tech stuff around here and there in the building as a day job. Mostly networks and wifi hotspots." Ray pointed up. "I've got amplifiers in the whole building, trying to figure out a stronger system."

Michael stared at him. "Ok. I can almost keep up with that. I did electric shit for a side job up in Jersey so that's about my range of understanding." 

Ray sighed. "We'd make a good pair. Too bad I'm paired up already."

"What?"

"Pairing up. Haywood didn't explain it?" Michael shook his head no and Ray continued. "Well, you might notice most people work in groups of two here. The group has complimenting talents or jobs and work together mostly. Like Burnie and Gus here. Both amazing cooks."

"Oh, like Matt and Jeremy in the convenience store upstairs." Michael searched his memory for pairs. 

"Yeah. Well, they're special because they don't provide anything to niche but personnel services but yeah. Not all pairs live together, though." 

"What about Geoff and that other guy?" The ring incident was still a fresh memory. 

Ray grinned. "Yup, those two are definitely a thing, too. Cohabitation if you wanna call it that."

"Ahhhh." Michael had nothing against it. He was pining for a man at the moment so what could he say? "So who's your partner?"

"Gavin, he mentioned he met you earlier."

"Oh my god, that British idiot is your partner? How does that even work? What does he do?"

"Pretty well actually." Ray glanced at this comm sitting on the table next to him. Text was scrawling across it with the time at the top. Looked like almost midnight. "Gavin plays pretty dumb. Maybe he is. But that dude is a fucking genius with networks and systems. He wrote the code for the comms we use."

"Huh."

"Right? We get along pretty well, we were paired up as soon as I showed up. He's been here for a long time, just after Haywood apparently." A thought struck Ray. "So what's your job? You'll probably get your own partner soon."

Michael looked a little sheepish. "Well, like I don't have a lot of natural talent here. I got a title though, uh.. Assistant Coordinator. I think. Ryan said he'd train me."

"What? Wow. Like you never went to college." Ray stopped. "Wait, you call him Ryan?"

"Everyone goes on about that! I told him to call me Michael and he said to call him Ryan. I asked him later and he said it was only fair." He felt a little defensive, what's the big deal?

"Huh."

"Yeah. So, yeah." Michael shifted uncomfortably. "I'll have to ask him about the partner thing, never mentioned it at all." 

A noise distracted Michael. A slight chime then a green envelope spun into life in front of Ray. Ray sighed and without looking flipped his hand up and spun the envelope. It opened and Gavin's voice started. 

"Hey boi, it's getting late. Get back so we can go over my new system before bed, I'm sleeeepy." 

Ray jerked his thumb at the note. "This is the genius." And rolled his eyes. 

Michael grinned as Gavin whined. "Come on boi, I got the bed warmer on and am 'bout to pass out. I'll be waiting." The note folded in on itself until it disappeared. 

"Bed warmer, eh?" Michael was grinning at Ray who slid out of the booth and grabbed his comm. 

"Not a thing, not Gavin. Just partners. I uh, no. He just stays at my place when he's working late. Gotta go, see you tomorrow man."

Ray escaped as quickly as he could but Michael knew his friend too well. He couldn't lie, at least not to Michael. 

It was getting late and Michael suddenly remembered that advanced "feature" on the holo display in his room. He glanced around and saw no one. Must be ok to just go if everything is payed for already. He slipped out and went back to his apartment. 

By the time Michael set his shoes back in the closet he was feeling tired again. He hadn't done much but was feeling exhausted. It was probably too much information too quickly but he could adjust. Maybe. 

The bed was soft as he plopped his ass on the edge. "So, Comm." He wasn't sure what else to call his holo assistant but it seemed to understand it was needed as it answered *Yes, Michael.*

"I'd like to see some porn... of..." Ryan's face popped into Michael's mind. "A blonde guy giving a blowjob. Like a businessman." Oh man this was awkward. 

*With two people or receiving it, Michael?*

Oh, that sounded interesting. "Receiving." A chime sounded as a man appeared on all floors in front of Michael. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt, blonde hair neatly pushed back behind his ears. "Well that's pretty close, if I don't look at the face."

*Any features may be altered to fit your taste, Michael. Is there a face setting you would like to use?*

No fucking way. This can't be so easy. It felt a little wrong but he couldn't resist trying. "Can you make the face look like a person staying in Niche?"

*Any person in the data banks not set as private may be used.*

"Ok, so what about using Ryan Haywood as the face?" He felt guilty immediately as he said it. Another chime and the image shifted before him. 

"How the hell?" The face wasn't exactly perfect but it was close enough to shock Michael. It looked like Ryan was staring up at him from the floor, placing his slightly see through hands on Michael's knees. The expression smirked and it somehow fit all too well. 

"Ok. Ok this is good." Michael rolled with it. He wasn't sure how this was supposed to give him a blow job so he continued to watch. "I can't exactly touch this." He tried petting the blonde hair and felt nothing as his fingers passed through. 

He set his hands on the edge of the bed and watched anxiously. 

The fake Ryan slid his hand along Michael's thigh to his crotch and unzipped his fly. He gently reached in and pulled Michael's member free from his jeans and lightly stroked. 

It took a second for Michael to figure out that it wasn't actually him but an image superimposed on top of his own pants. It gave the image of a blowjob without the actually sensation. It was a little disappointing but what was he expecting from a projection? But still, the image of Ryan stroking his dick with this hungry look in his eyes had him feeling it. 

Michael rubbed himself through his jeans, enjoying the show that mostly hid his hand. 

Ryan had moved closer, hovering his mouth just above his dick. He breathed hotly against the tip then pressed his lips in a kiss a little lower on the head. His hand was firmly stroking now as he slid his tongue up the back side and sucked the entire head into his mouth. His cheeks hollowed and his head slid down, twisting as it descended. He set a steady rhythm, occasionally stopping to take a breath and worshiped the cock with his tongue. 

Michael pulled his actual dick out from his pants and started stroking himself, it somewhat interrupted the image so he adjusted himself lower than the image. He was almost full mast watching Ryan suck him off. If only he could have the real thing on his knees before him, actually cupping his balls and groaning with a mouth full of Michael's dick. 

His dick twitched at the thought. The fake Ryan sat back and slid the black tie from around his neck. Deft hands unbuttoned the white shirt but left it open. His hands ran along his chest and scratched at the collarbone gleaming with sweat. Michael quickened the pace of his hand. 

Ryan looked Michael in the eyes as his hand slid lower, cupping the hard bulge in his trousers. He rubbed his hardness for a few seconds moaning and rolling his hips against his own hand. Unzipping the fly he takes out his member and touches flesh, strongly stroking. The noises coming out of his mouth were sinful. Suddenly he leaned forward and panted hotly against Michael. 

Gripping Michael with his left hand and stroking himself with his right he sucked the tip back in his mouth. He gasped air around the dick and swallowed Michael deep into the back of his throat. The fake Ryan moved with such gusto he had to be close himself. Michael was loosing his mind, stroking himself and groaning "Fuck, Ryan. God, I want to feel that." 

Ryan swallowed again, moving his head back up and down, ramming his abused throat over and over. His hand moved fast on himself and tears slid down his face. He looked desperate for release as the dick in his mouth twitched, the first release shooting down his throat. He pulled back as it continued to shoot across his tongue and lips and he closed his eyes, letting his head roll back. Cum dripped down his throat as he tensed, releasing from his own hand across the floor in front of him between Michael's feet.

Michael lost it, cumming without restraint in actuality across his carpet in thick, cream spurts. 

The Ryan in front of him had released the hologram dick and was leaning back on his knees, panting and licking his own cum from his fingers. He looked back at Michael and spoke for the first time. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did." Then the image faded. 

Michael stared at his own cum soaking into the carpet as his breathing slowed and reality set in. He jacked off to a holo of his boss of only one day. More importantly he worried about the carpet staining. He stepped over it to the door and crossed the hallway to the bathroom, cleaning himself off and tucked himself back into his pants. Grabbing a rag from above the sink he wet it down and went back to his room and kneeled down to start scrubbing away his guilt. 

Hours later, Michael laid in bed with a horrible thought racking his mind. What if using Ryan's image -alerts- Ryan that he used it? What if it said what he used it for? His face burned hot with embarrassment. Tomorrow was going to be really hard to look Ryan in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun, never written anything erotic. Need to get some practice in. Next chapter Michael is shown the back, private areas of Niche. :)


	5. Level 2 Access Changes Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael ends up at Ray's apartment early and finds something he isn't expecting? Things start to change fast for Niche's newest employee, if only he can keep up. If only Ryan would keep his hands out of Michael's hair?

Niche Chapter 5:

A noise chimed lightly through the darkness, stirring Michael from his sleep. A black envelope spun above his head in the gloom. As he set up in bed he spun the envelope and let his eyes adjust to the rising light. 

"Good morning, Michael." Ryan's smooth voice greeted him. "It looks like Ray and Gavin were trying out their new wifi hotspot and blew some fuses. I'm needing to talk to Ray anyway but wiring has never been my best subject. Would you mind joining me at his apartment at 10:00 am?" The envelope dissolved into smoke, gold glittering throughout it. 

Michael's stomach bottomed out, looks like he has to face Ryan sooner than he thought. "Ugh, time to man up. Comm, send a note to Ryan."

*Absolutely, Michael. What would you have it say?*

"Uh.. hey, Ryan. Yeah, I know enough to change some fuses. I'll see you there." Another chime sounded. 

He rolled over in bed looking for a clock. There was none. He groaned and yelled louder than he needed. "Comm! What fucking time is it?"

*The time is now 7:15 am.* 

"Fuuuuuck me. Might as well get up... and eat or something."

He rolled off the bed and walked down the hall into the kitchen. It was modern and white, with nothing exactly decorating the small room. He opened the fridge to nothing, not even bottled water. "Guess I didn't exactly pack... food." 

He leaned against the counter and debated going back to the restaurant.

"Oh wait, convenience store! I wonder if it's open." He pulled out his comm and tapped at it until he found the hours. 

"24 hours.. convenient." Michael pocketed the tablet and rubbed his face. He wasn't a morning person on a normal day and his schedule was all out of whack, he felt like shit. Food would probably help?

He went back to his room to throw some clothes on, black denim and a gray tshirt with a smeared circle across the front. After getting dressed and half-assed-ly groomed he stepped out his front door into the open building. 

It hadn't really hit Michael with how big the place was, not just in square footage but height. He was on the second floor but the ceiling loomed far overhead, lights twinkling in the early morning darkness. It was overwhelming. He was going to be somewhat in charge of running this place. Some small part of him clinched, it was exciting and horrifying at the same time. 

He turned left and found the convenience store glowing bright, definitely open. The rows of food, household items and personal necessities greeted him in the open front of the store. It was the most mall looking aspect of Niche he had seen thus far. 

Michael wandered in, glancing at the food isle as he passed. The short clerk was here, Jeremy? 

"Hey! Michael, how's it going?" He was sitting on a stool behind the counter messing with his comm. It looked like he was playing a game. 

"Not bad. Just woke up and realized I got jack shit sitting in my fridge right now. Figured I could pick up some food here." Michael jerked his thumb to the aisles behind him. 

Jeremy stood and pocketed his comm and leaned under the counter. "Yeah, sounds shit. Well help yourself to our offerings, man." He set a small hand basket on the counter. "Since its your first time I'll fill yah in: You can come here and fill up on whatever you need, anytime you need. Everything is included in your rent so go wild, bucko."

"Nah shit, that's great." Michael grabbed the handle from Jeremy and turned back to the food. "What if there's something not here that I want?"

"We'll order it for you, no prob." Jeremy leaned on the counter drinking a coffee. "Gets here in about two days."

Michael loved this. Like a weird dream coming true, going through a market grabbing anything he wanted. No worries for money. Something clicked in his head, he hadn't been carrying his wallet. Back home, there was never a reason not to have your wallet on you. And since arriving at Niche Michael hadn't had a need for it yet, forgetting to even carry it. It was kind of freeing. 

"Ain't even gotta have my wallet? I feel spoiled here." Michael was already putting some fruit in his basket. Along with a box of donuts and some instant drink mix. Anything he even halfway wanted he grabbed. His kitchen would be full as hell after this trip. 

Jeremy grunted at Michael's comment, drinking more of the coffee down. "Just don't get more than you can carry. I ain't helping you lug that shit back home."

A box of graham crackers paused mid air as Michael took the words in. His basket was already overflowing. "Yeah, point taken. This'll do me for a bit."

He turned back and deposited the bulk on the counter and Jeremy started to scan it in. "We still do a checkout, just to keep inventory." He bagged things up and handed them to Michael. "Enjoy a full kitchen, my friend."

"Damn straight. Thanks, man." Michael set back off, arms full. Jeremy set back on his stool, sucking more coffee out of his endless thermos and pulled his comm back out. Seems like a thrilling job. Michael suddenly felt grateful for his job placement, something more free roaming and not 24 hours a day. 

An hour later Michael had unpacked the food and polished two bowls of cereal off. As he gulped the last of his coffee he stopped to think. What does he do now? He had about an hour to kill before meeting up at Ray's place. Back at his mom's house he'd sit around and play video games to pass the time. Sometimes he would read or workout but had no real hobbies. Here, he felt a little disconnected from his previous life. 

He grabbed dishes and set to cleaning them at the sink, if anything just to keep his hands busy. That and he hated leaving dirty shit anywhere in his house. 

Two seconds later he finished cleaning his one cup and bowl, then set them to dry. 

He stared at the tiled wall in front of him. Such a laid back job was bound to be boring if he didn't do anything else but hang out in his apartment. Maybe he could go chill at Ray's before Ryan got there? If he got there before Ray got up, maybe see if him and Gavin were actually sharing a bed. Yup, good way to waste time: snooping on his friends. 

Michael wiped his hands across his shirt then pulled out his comm. 

"Hey, comm. Where does Ray live?" 

After a moment, *Room S206, in the South wing. Would you like directions there, Michael?*

"Yeah, thanks." Michael didn't think too hard about thanking a computer, instead he mindlessly followed its directions out his door and around the open expanse of Niche. While he glanced at the guiding lights along the path, he thought of Ryan. What did he really feel for the guy?

Yes, he was attractive in an I-would-totally-fuck-at-least-once-given-the-chance way. He had redeeming features including his face and fit physique but his personally was still.. He was still too professional with Michael. He couldn't yet get a grasp on Ryan. He was smooth and friendly yet stumbled on words sometimes. An awkward laugh or scathing remark laid clues to a different man that Michael had yet to fully meet. 

It was all superficial. Michael came to a decision, he was attracted to Ryan physically yet wanted more. More than someone to jack off to, maybe a relationship? 

A relationship with his boss didn't seem like a good idea. 

*You have arrived.*

Michael broke away from his thoughts to see a single door in front of him, black and reflective like his but with 'Ray Narvaez Jr.' etched into the front. Michael remembered Ryan saying he could use the pad to the right as a doorbell of sorts, so he tapped it lightly then waited. 

Ray's tinny voice came from the pad. "Hey, Michael, is that you? Fuckin' early." Perfect, Michael caught him early enough. He would bet good money who was all buddied up with Ray right now. "Give me a sec, I'll let you in."

Guess he wasn't going to hide Gavin's presence. The door swung open silently with a still sleepy looking Ray waving him in, wearing an oversized tshirt and boxers. This was gonna be good. 

"Well Ray, ol buddy. Did I catch you still asleep?" Michael stepped in leaning around his friend for a better look. "Did I catch you with a certain cute British... Ryan?"

Ryan looked up from behind the kitchen bar. He was drinking coffee over a laptop that glowed in the comfortable dim lighting. "Oh Michael, you're rather early."

"Ah, yeah." Michael's stomach was sinking, fast. He shouldn't be making assumptions but why is Ryan in Ray's kitchen at like, nine in the morning? "You too?" 

Ray looked at the two of them and rolled his eyes then turned back and collapsed full-bodily on the couch. 

Ryan's sleeves were rolled up and his hair mussed like he'd been running his hands through it. Just how long had he been here? Michael shouldn't be this upset, this didn't mean anything but his body was telling him something different. His stomach was clenched and his heart rate skyrocketed until he felt light headed. 

"Michael?" He hadn't spoken and just stared at Ryan. "Buddy, are you alright? Kinda spaced out on me." 

He swallowed and inhaled deep trying to build his confidence. "Yeah, yeah. Just upset I didn't make it here first. Uh.." He fumbled for excuses. "..just trying to be a good employee and show up early? Ha.." Michael passed the modern couch strewn with blankets and Ray to the black marble counter that Ryan was working at. "I uh.. guess I could get a head start on this fuse thing?" 

Ryan set his coffee down and reached across the counter to brush the curls out of Michael's eyes. "If you're sure you're feeling alright. You look gob smacked to see me." He looked down at his attire. "I do look like a mess, I've been here all night working on this with Ray." He threw Michael a sheepish half smile.

"All night, huh." Michael was still savoring the warmth from Ryan's fingertips, brief as it was. "Yall were working real hard huh? All work no messing around?" He shouldn't be feeling this jealousy over someone he barely knew, but here he was, wanting to strangle Ray.

"Messing around? Nah we didn't have time. Geoff has really been pushing for a better wifi system with better encryption since the last incident, uh.. data breach?" Ryan started to stumble over his words. "Basically wanted stronger wifi, yes. Loves gaming, wants less... lag." He looked uncomfortable and Michael could only guess he was lying, but why? Why would Ryan lie about wanting stronger signals? Maybe Michael was way off course.

Trying to put aside his suspicious discomforts, Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and changed the subject back to his part of the job. "Ok? So what about the fuse, yall blew it?"

Ryan looked relieved. "Yes! It's imbedded in the outlet over here, I don't understand much about these." He pointed to a plug with an LED flashing red. Michael had dealt with these before.

"Ahh, they're a pain in the ass but it probably saved the rest of your wiring set up." He went around the island counter to stand beside Ryan. "I've installed hundreds of these shits. Flashing red means not just the fuse but the entire outlet was fried."

Ryan let Michael slip in front of him and leaned over his shoulder to watch Michael pull out a utility knife and pry the flathead setting out. 

"If I'm right the rest of the sockets should still be a solid green." He was twisting out the screws with practiced ease. Ryan took that as a cue and started to circle the large kitchen. He moved aside an expensive looking coffee brewer and shoved his head back behind the fridge to peer down the crack. 

"They all seem to be green, Michael." He turned around to look towards Michael and saw everything already torn apart, separated neatly on the counter. 

"Jesus, what did yall do? It's fried as hell." Michael set down his multi-tool and was inspecting the color of the wires. "Yeah, red and black. I'm going to have to change out the entire wall socket, gotta shut the power off first." He turned back to Ryan who was smiling at him. "Where's the power control box? What? You're looking at me funny."

"I'm just thinking I've made a good decision on my new employee." Ryan came back to Michael and was messing with his hair again, ruffling it like he would a dogs.

"Ryyy-annn stop." His hair was wild enough as it is without being messed with. "Why you gotta do that?" 

"Will you two fuck off? Stop with this lovey bullshit I'm trying to sleep over here." Ray was yelling from the heaped up blankets on the couch. 

Michael had forgotten about Ray and could feel his embarrassment creeping up, a denial already on his lips when Ryan laughed. "You know sexual encounters aren't allowed on the job, right Ray? Gavin's chewed you out so many ti-" 

"AND, don't you need to be fixing this power thing?" Ray swung up from the couch glaring at Ryan, bed head looking worse than ever. "Like now?"

Ryan was grinning mischievously, Michael hadn't seen him make that expression before but it really seemed like a natural Ryan mood. It was kinda cute. It almost distracted him from what Ryan was implying, that Ray was fucking someone while on the clock? Was it Ryan? Gavin?

"What's going on out here?" Michael swiveled to look behind him to a doorway to the right of the kitchen. A disheveled Gavin stood in the door rubbing his eyes. "Oh it's Michael, boi. Hi Mich.. cl..AHHHw" He broke off in a yawn.

Michael felt like he was spinning, this was very different than how he pictured this morning going. He turned back to Ryan, the only one who could ground him right now. Ryan was moving to the doorway Gavin stood in.

"Boys, Michael and I have got this handled, why don't yall call it a full day and go to sleep. I'll make sure your schedule is clear for the next 24 hours." Ryan had his hand on Gavin's shoulder, pinching the area where the neck and shoulder met, rubbing circles with his thumb over the collarbone. Gavin nodded and leaned into Ryan's hand.

Ray was shuffling past Michael wrapped in multiple blankets, grumbling something about sleep.

"Michael you wait here and I'll make sure these two idiots actually sleep." Ryan was pulling Ray into his right arm by his waist and Gavin by the left. "I'll be right back, go make yourself some coffee." He was toeing the door shut behind him but Michael caught the sight of a single large bed in the middle of a dark purple room.

"Uh, yeah. I'll do that." Michael said to a closed door.

That was.. weirdly intimate. Michael hadn't seen Ryan interacting with anyone other than the Jack guy the other day but wasn't this kinda personal? The way he casually touched them and the warm look in his eyes when he watched the other guys.. it honestly reminded Michael in the way Ryan was starting to treat him. 

Michael touched the messy curls that hung over his forehead. How could he be jealous and excited at the same time? Was this something Ryan did with everyone he was friends with? Michael was very confused.

He turned back to the kitchen and thought of coffee, he already had some today and didn't feel his nerves needed anymore. He leaned over the laptop that Ryan had been working at, trying to understand the words and symbols in neat rows across the screen. Was this code? Michael had no idea about this shit, it was crazy. He could do amperage and wiring but computers? Shit no. 

"Can you code, Michael?" He jumped at Ryan's voice. 

"That was quick. No, I was just being nosy. This shit is foreign to me." He waved dismissively at the laptop in front of him. 

"Curiosity gets you into troublesome situations, Michael." Ryan was laughing to himself quietly. "The others are all passed out, they haven't actually slept in the past day. They keep trying to but work keeps getting pushed into their laps." Ryan seemed irked with this.

"Oh ok, I guess it'll just be us then." Michael was secretly happy.

"That's fine with me." Ryan was smiling again and staring at Michael who felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of those strikingly blue eyes.

Michael cleared his throat. "So the power box?" 

Ryan nodded and went down the hallway to the end where a mirrored wall reflected the two of them.

"This is actually a door, Michael. It works a little differently and must be accessed by your comm." He pulled his tablet and tapped it in the middle of the mirror. "There's a sensor here, it doesn't do anything fancy but read the comm's signature identity and scans your face."

The mirror made a slight chime and slid to the right, a concrete hallway was on the other side.

"Welcome to Level 3 access, Michael. Very few of us are allowed back here but only you and I really use it." 

An excitement bubbled up in Michael for multiple reasons, one this was cool as hell and two only the two of them would use it. Privately. 

Michael followed Ryan out into a vast corridor that seemed to line the entire length of Niche. It was utilitarian and mostly made of concrete, exposed pipes and neat cables bundled up as they ran across the infrastructure, wiring the entire building. It was weirdly impressive.

Ryan looked proud, he had turned back towards Michael. "Like it? I designed the layout myself."

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in. What do you mean, you made all this?" Michael waved his arm around him.

"Well, the entirety of Niche was built from the shell of this former mall. It wasn't a hired company to do all this, we've done it ourselves as a group. Everything from the tile to the wiring and paint to the technology was all done by us."

Michael had to think about it, wasn't that actually weird? "I mean, Ryan, isn't that the norm though? A company renovates it with some designers or something then people move in?"

"Ah well, technically we are a company who needed a base that wasn't too noticeable and this mall had been gutted and sold off. We made it our new home." Ryan tapped a small metal door directly outside the mirrored door. It popped open revealing the breakers for the apartment. "It was a work of love that turned a base into more of a home."

"Oh. I just assumed someone else owned this. You mean everyone who lives here works for this company. Everyone owns it together."

Ryan was reading the little notes next to each breaker carefully. "Everyone, including you. But everyone's roll in the group is different depending on their facilities. I'm great at management, the two boys at creating, and you at fixing."

"I'm not really.. good. I've just had experience with electrical work." Michael shrugged.

"You just don't see it in you like I do, Michael." Ryan's finger paused over a switch. "Would we want kitchen outlets or kitchen utilities?""Outlets, go ahead." Michael watched Ryan flip the breaker and turn back to him.

"I'll show you where our storage is. It's here on the second floor on this side, not too far down." Michael nodded and fell in step with Ryan when he set off north. Michael almost choked when he felt Ryan's warm hand on his shoulder, Ryan continued to walk with his arm around him like nothing was strange.

Nothing that Michael minded at least. After a couple hundred feet they stopped at a large double door with a pad to the right. 

"-those were pipes and there's the private bathroom and this, this is Mechanical 1. Each floor has one but this one is big enough I store parts in here, too." Ryan slipped his comm back out and touched the pad. "You must have your comm for this area, also, it's Level 2."

The door slid open like the mirrored one had revealing another large room with what looked like a gigantic boiler and sprinkler system to the right. On the left were cabinets lined up with parts, storing anything Niche could need to replace.

"Everything is cataloged and inventory is done quarterly. This will be up to you." Ryan had pulled Michael to a stop in front of the drawers. "Here's electrical. As you take anything out adjust the number on the front with this little display. It's a bit manual but the system works for me. As soon as it's low more will auto order and once we receive them I'll hand them off to you for putting them up."

This seemed easy enough. Michael found the drawer labeled "electric socket" and pulled out a fresh one still in a foil packet. He thumbed the number on the display down to 9 and turned back to Ryan. "That about right, Ry-bread?" 

Ryan's smile grew a little wider, that deep look back in his eyes only made darker by the dim lighting. "Of course." 

The mood suddenly shifted as his hand was back at Michael's forehead, this time only playing with his curls with no real purpose. All Michael could think of was last night with the fake holo-Ryan on his knees, a similar look on his face. Even the mortification of that faded away as Michael concentrated on the heat from Ryan's fingers as they brushed his skin making his heart race as time slowed.

Ryan playfully tugged a curl and watched as it bounced back, then pulled another. "Any other questions?" Michael's eyes fluttered as he threaded his fingers into the thick mess of curls.

This was very distracting but Michael did have a nagging question stuck in his head. "Ah, actually yeah, not exactly related to this.. Ray mentioned something about partners?" Ryan's hand stilled against Michael. "He was saying he would be mine but he already has Gavin, so I guess that worked. But for mine, he said I should ask you?" 

Michael's gut twisted, why was this making him so nervous?

Ryan pulled away and leaned back causing Michael's gut to clench tighter.

"What? Should I not ask? Ryan?" Shit, he shouldn't of asked. Michael suddenly felt cold without Ryan so close. The other man shook his head.

"No, no, Michael. You're completely fine with asking." He ran his hand through his own hair and looked anywhere but Michael, almost nervously. "I just wasn't prepared to talk about it yet. I've done a lot of thinking in the past couple of days but I wasn't ready to bring this up."

This felt more serious than Ray made it out to be. 

"Is it that big of a deal? Ray was so whatever about it, like fuck, Ryan is it really important?" Michael took a step forward to see Ryan's face better. He had never seen him act so unsure. 

Ryan looked back up. "Well, it can be. A partner is someone you work very close with, basically see them all day, every day. Many just move in together to make it easier." Michael thought of Ray and Gavin spending all night together. "It's also someone you trust immensely, sometimes with your life. Though it's not like that at the beginning of the partnership... it builds."

Michael wondered what he needed to trust someone with his life for, maybe changing lights a hundred feet up by the ceiling? 

"This does feel pretty extreme if I'm entrusting my life to this person." 

"Well, I mean, it isn't like that for everyone." Ryan backpedaled a bit. "For most people, for you, it'll be fine. I'll ensure it." His look was intense, pinning Michael. 

Michael grinned. "Sounds like a promise." 

Ryan took a deep breath. "Michael." 

"Yeah?" He straightened his back.

"I was thinking about making you my partner."

Michael was stunned, his mind raced. He was shocked but really shouldn't be when he thought about it. They work together anyway, will see each other often, have similar jobs.. and Ryan did seem to like him at least. He touched and messed with him like he did the other 'boys'. 

Michael was frozen with thought as Ryan stared, waiting for a reply.

But nothing happened. Ryan started to ramble. "Well, it is a substantial decision. We've have so much in common I thought it would be good to pair us, I do like being with you, too so there's that. I mean, I- I know it's really an intamin- intimate thing so I understand if you say no to someone who you've only known for 3 days total. S-so you can always think for a longer amount.."

Michael shouldn't be so endeared by Ryan's stammering but it was fucking adorable. "Ryan." Michael grabbed him by his arms. "I'm happy to be that. It's ok, you've gotten all flustered over this but yeah, I'd love to be your partner."

Ryan looked relieved but continued his warnings. "Michael do you really understand? This is very important, we will be tied together by our biometrics, any work done by one is expected to be also done by the other, we are essentially one unit. You will be drawn even deeper into Niche's activities and have more expected from you. If you're my partner.. you will be in the upper echelon of Niche." 

"Oooh, its like marrying a mob boss, I end up running shit, too." Michael was grinning. "Love it. Let's do this, partner." 

Ryan blinked then slipped his arms from Michael and held his face with both hands. "You aren't far off, Curley." Michael grimaced. "Oh yeah, you hate that nickname. What about Mikey?"

"Hell no, I hate that more." He shook his head from Ryan's hands. "I've never really had a good nickname, I'm good.""That's fine then." Ryan snagged Michael in a side hug and drug him from Mechanical 1 back into the hall. "I'll just call you MY Michael."

A blush crept up his face and he squeezed the part in his hand until the package crinkled. "Whatever you want, OLD man."

"I'm not that much older than you-"

They bickered back and forth as they leisurely walked back the way they came until they reached Ray's apartment. Michael broke the hold Ryan had on him and made for the outlet in the kitchen. 

Less than a minute later he had switched the wires from the old unit to the new one and replaced the cover on the wall. "Alright Ry-bread. Flip it back on!" He yelled down the hallway to Ryan who waited by the power box.

"You got it!" Michael heard Ryan yell and watched the light flick on to a steady green from the outlet's indicator. Perfection.

"Easy peasy, got this shit locked down." Michael put his multi tool back in his pocket and turned to see Ryan waiting on him. "Is everything done?"

"You just need to write up your report on the incident tonight to wrap it up, but we're done here."   
Michael glanced at a clock above the stove. A little before eleven am. 

"We've not got anything else on the agenda, would you like to go for an early lunch, partner?" Ryan waved his arm towards the door. 

"Abso-fucking-lutely, is that restaurant downstairs ok?" Michael made for the entrance and Ryan followed.

"Sounds perfect." He held the door as Michael passed through and they headed for the escalators down. "I should probably talk to the two working there, anyways. They actually are some of the founders of Niche, and I should probably fill them in."

"Founders? But their cooks?" Michael felt bewildered. 

"Yeahhh, they like to keep things low key. We've got a lot to talk about, I'll need their help. I've never had a partner here before." Ryan wasn't looking at him.

"So I'm a first?" Michael was grinning.

"Yes. The first, they'll probably have a strong reaction when I introduce you as my partner. As my Michael." 

Michael head was slightly swimming, he could feel a change coming but wasn't sure what it was. The sudden and casual closeness from Ryan was wonderful but you could not of told him early this morning that they would be partners. Michael hoped for something more but wasn't about to hold his breath. The smile on Ryan's face was wonderful as it was without forcing more. 

In the next few hours Michael's view of Niche was about to change greatly but at this moment, he couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having too much fun with this, things are getting deeper. Michael is such a ditz sometimes, next chapter is going to blow his fucking mind lol Things are going to get even tighter for our new power partners :)


	6. Stay Away From the Fucking Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan suddenly passes out on Michael, who now is expected to take care of his new partner. Michael does his best to help him but lets be honest, the struggle is real. 
> 
> *Added slow burn as a tag, love that sweet slooooow flirty shit*

Niche Chapter 6:

Michael watched as Ryan input his order on the screen, a steak and baked potato. Michael already put in for his burger. They had chosen a booth in the very back right corner of Restaurant Noir, hidden most from the front view of the entrance. 

"Have you met Bernie and Gus yet?" Ryan was undoing the napkin and setting the silverwear out in front of him.

"I met Bernie, he said Gus was sleeping then. He seemed ok, only saw him for a couple minutes." Michael shrugged and settled in for the wait on their food. 

Piano music tinkled in the background as Ryan thought quietly about something. "There's.." He fiddled with the fork as he paused. "..a copious amount of changes coming your way."

He had been hinting at something for a while and Michael found his heart rate picking up in anticipation, but tried to play it off cool. "How different could things be? I think I can take it, hit me with it, Ry-bread."

Ryan was staring intently into Michael's eyes. "We, ..I mentioned that Niche was a company looking for a new base, right?"

"Uhh, yeah. How yall built this place from the ground up."

"We started off as a small company, a few friends in the tech industry with similar interests making new advancements in technology. We'd design something, sell off the rights of the idea and make something else." Ryan glanced towards the kitchen to his right. "We were doing really well, too well."

Michael pulled a skeptical face. "How does one do 'too well'?" 

"One catches the attention of other groups doing the same thing. Other large, multi-billion dollar groups with connections in high and also low, dark places." 

"Like the mafia." Michael was deadpan, still not grasping things completely. 

Ryan choked a small laugh. "They might as well be. The money is there, and the crime, and the murder, and the haggling, and strong-arming, and militia, and.. yeah. Might as well be." 

His voice took on a sad tone. "We thought we could fight them, thought we could make better things than anything these other pieces of shit could produce. We all made a pact to continue and fight against them, be the good guys in this industry."

"And it didn't work?" Michael was getting caught up in the story now. "What did yall do?"

"No, no. Michael, it worked perfectly. Don't you see where you reside? We are now one of these multi-billion dollar corporations, just with a different set of morals." Ryan gestured around them with a flick of his head.

Michael shrugged. "Alright. Good deal, it all went to plan. You're the good guys in a bad industry, a light in the darkness. Why do you keep making this out to be so dramatic?" 

"Because it hasn't gone easily, Michael. We haven't been a light, just a different shade of darkness." Ryan looked heartbroken. "We've lost so many people along the way. So many friends."

"Liiiiiike they left for other companies?" Michael tried to be hopeful.

"Like they were killed in an attack. Either one we made in retaliation or one made on us."

Michael stared. People had died? He could feel a panicked bile start to rise in the back of his throat.

"Attacks a long time ago?"

Ryan sighed. "A month ago was the last attack, took out our data networks. They stole some information about our new EMP device, causing us to scratch the project and start fresh. Thank god Jeremey and Matt found them on the roof, we lost no one that night."

Michael sat silently processing everything. He sat there for a long time while Ryan quietly watched, worry openly etched across his features. 

"Where is the intruder now, Ryan." Michael felt like he knew the answer.

"Probably back at the other company, when I got there Jeremey had nearly killed him. I wanted to interrogate him so we captured him and.. he talked quickly." Ryan wasn't looking at Michael. "I don't believe what he said was true, but it tipped us in the right direction. We released him out off a highway in the middle of the city, just dumped him from the side door and left."

"So he lived." Michael didn't feel that hungry now. "But, others haven't."

"Exactly." 

Another silence permeated the conversation, the piano music filtered out of their worried minds. 

"We try our best, Michael, but it doesn't always work. We're not exactly good people."

Michael balled his fists on top of the table. "Have you..?" ..killed anyone? "Yes."

Ryan laid his hand on Michael's, squeezing tightly. "I'm telling you this, giving you an opportunity to leave. To escape this with no strings attached. To not be my partner and never turn back."

To Michael's credit, he didn't flinch at Ryan's touch. He thought of his life before and the endless monotony of dead end jobs, lack of money, no friends, no life and compared it to now. 

In just a couple days he reconnected with an old friend, made possible new ones and became a partner to someone he really liked. His life suddenly had meaning.

"Yall didn't do anything you didn't have to, you aren't the bad guys." He flipped his hand over in Ryan's grasp and held tightly. "If that's the life I live to stay here, to stay with you, then I don't mind staying here forever."Ryan was smiling. "Once you say yes, it is a forever thing."

"Well I already said it, twice. So I'm in for fucking life." Something to Michael's left stopped him, he let go and turned his attention to a man with dark features holding two plates of food.

"What do we have here? The new kid and Mr. Haywood, holding hands." He set the plates down and held a hand to Michael. "I'm Gus, the most important man in Niche."

Michael took his hand and laughed. "Oh yeah?"

"He's not kidding. Gus is one of the five cofounders." Ryan had picked up his fork and knife, tearing into the steak. He must be starving.

"Oh." His assessment of the man in front of him wasn't too impressive. "Uh, hi Gus?"

Ryan waved a noncommittal knife towards Michael. "Gus, this is Michael, my new partner." "Well, Michael-" What Gus was about to say caught against his teeth. He whipped around to Ryan. "Partner? You've finally taken a partner and it's some kid?"

Michael looked indignant. "Hey!"

"No offense but Haywood hasn't taken a partner once in all these years and then suddenly, you? What's so special about him?" Gus waved wildly towards Michael. 

"He's special. He's my Michael." Ryan still wasn't looking at Gus. "His talent is in fixing things, electrical."

"I've done electrician shit before, don't let him psych me up here."Gus crossed his arms. "Ok, I guess. It's Haywood's decision I'm just, it was really quick."

Michael shrugged. "When it clicks, it clicks, right?"

"Partnerships usually form over extended periods of time, a couple days is pretty unusual, bucko." It was Bernie, he had walked up behind Gus. "I've been listening, you sure on this Haywood?"

For the first time Ryan looked up. "Undoubtably positive." Half his food was already eaten and Michael had only taken a couple bites.

"Well," Bernie put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Welcome to the family, kid."

Was Michael supposed to be reassured by their friendly acceptance? He had so many questions about this, but one kept ringing in his head. "Why are people so set on attacking yall guys?" It blurted out before he could reign in the panicked thought.

Bernie and Gus laughed, the former answering. "OK, first question is a pretty strong one. Doesn't hold back, does he? Really, there's been so many 'pre-emptive' attacks that no one can figure out who's attacking who for what reason BUT while they're here they commonly try and steal our amazing coffee recipe."

"Yup, it's pretty popular." Gus chimed in.

Michael was shocked silent for the thousandth time this conversation. Once his brain caught up he could only ask disbelievingly: "They attack and kill people for a fucking coffee recipe?!" 

"It's not just any coffee, kid. It's what made us who we are. This bio-chemist next to me," Bernie jut his thumb at Gus, "is the one who altered the chemical composition of coffee to make it stronger."

Gus looked offended. "It's not just -stronger- its better in every way. Keeps you up and alert for 24 hours at least, it's an amazing stimulant."

Bernie nodded. "Only downfall is the crash, you get tired and quick.""Yeahhh, I still can't seem to get past this glitch. I don't suggest drinking it for more than 2 days, after that the crash is hard as shit." Gus shrugged. "But it's worth it. The whole company here uses it. How do you think we run Niche on a nearly twenty four hour schedule?"

Michael thought about it as he tore into his burger. That does explain only two people running a twenty four hour convenient store and the two in front of him running an all day restaurant. 

Eating fries Michael suddenly realized. "Oh shit! I bet that's why I've seen everyone drinking so much coffee all the time." Almost every time Michael saw someone there was coffee in the vicinity. "This is fucking wild. Do I get some?"

"Sure." Gus was turned to walk away. "Stop by the labs and they'll set you up. Gonna go hit the dishes, see you round." 

"Labs?" Michael turned to Bernie. 

"Yeah, you better have Haywood explain that to you. We've got a lot going on in produc- Haywood?"

Ryan wasn't eating now, just staring at his fork. 

Bernie sighed. "Speaking of dumbasses who drink too much coffee, how many days you on it Haywood?" 

Michael was glancing between the two, Ryan had all but disappeared from the conversation the last few minutes. 

"Na-ahem," Ryan dropped his fork and cleared his throat. "no more than two." He looked like he was going to pass out.

"Jesus man, when were you going to sleep?" Bernie already had Ryan's arm and was pulling him out of the booth. Michael jumped up to help, taking Ryan over his shoulder.

"Sometime.. soon.. needed to finish.." Ryan's eyes drooped closed.

"Well, fuck." Bernie hoisted Ryan's weight onto Michael. "Looks like he needs his partner to take him to his room and get him in bed."

Michael was able to hold Ryan half way, figuring he could probably make it around the corner to Ryan's apartment. "Yeah, yeah. I can do that. He'll be ok, right?"

Bernie shrugged. "Depends on how long since he's actually slept, the dumbass. If he isn't waking up or his vitals drop, use your comm to call for emergency medical."

That didn't feel assuring. "Ok, I'll see you later Bernie." He watched the cook head off towards the kitchen. 

"Shit, com'on Ryan you gotta walk some." He shook his shoulder under Ryan trying to rouse the sleeping man. 

Ryan mumbled and didn't open his eyes but did take on more of his own weight. Michael took the opportunity to turn them around and head out the entrance of the restaurant. 

"God, it's like you're dead drunk." Michael laughed as Ryan snorted and mumbled something like 'I don't drink' but Michael couldn't quite tell for sure. 

After an eternity, Michael drug a passed out Ryan to his office door. "Fuck, was his place through here?" He looked down the black exterior and didn't see another door along the wall. Time to guess.

Michael sat Ryan on the ground against the glass and patted his cheek. "Ry-bread, wake up. I need to get in your office. Your place through there?"

Ryan stuggled to open his eyes and look towards his jacket pocket. Is that where he kept his keycard?

Hoping he had the right idea, Michael unbuttoned Ryan's blazer jacket and found a pocket inside holding Ryan's black keycard. His name was embellished in gold on one side. Michael stood and slapped it against the door to his right and mentally celebrated as a sensor must have read it as the door swung in.

Ryan was on the ground mumbling and trying to stand so Michael helped him up and pulled him through the threshold, letting the door swing shut behind them.

"Ryan, buddy, you gotta help me out. Where's your apartment?" He was leaning heavy on Michael who didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

"Is that wa.." Ryan looked blearily past the desk and chairs to a door facing them. They slowly made their way over and Michael was surprised to find it unlocked, a basic wooden door.

Michael felt like he was loosing his mind, this was all too surreal. He opened the door and as the lights rose he was surprised to find a normal looking kitchen with warm wood tones and marbled concrete. It wasn't screaming modern but instead a traditional sort that one would see in a Country Living magazine.

"Oooook. Cozy. Ryan stay with me, almost to your bed. Just gonna gotta make it down a hall."

A hallway stretched across from the entrance and Michael could see an open bedroom door at the end. Tugging Ryan towards it he could see the warm gray colors inside. Making it to the door he found a bed with deep emerald green covers. There was nothing else in the room but a closet he could see through a set of double doors.

"Here we go. Your bed awaitith, my king." Michael dropped Ryan face down against the soft looking cover. "Shit, sorry."

Michael felt a sudden embarrassment. He couldn't just leave Ryan fully clothed to sleep for the next however many hours, he needed to be undressed. 

Grabbing Ryan's shoulder he flipped him on his back, the man's hair and clothes were tussled into a ravished elegance. Michael swallowed and tugged the blazer off Ryan, then set to unbuttoning the gray shirt now exposed. He wasn't wearing anything underneath, Michael discovered, as that too was removed. Michael took a short second or five to observe the man laying in bed, shirtless. He had broad, strong shoulders and a small waist but that soft tummy persisted. It was cute.

The belt was removed and Michael's hands paused on the button of the trousers. Ryan was snoring slightly which caused Michael to laugh. "Ryan, you're ridiculous."

He undid the pants and tugged hard, barely getting them to budge. Michael threw caution to the wind and straddled Ryan's knees, lifting his hips with one arm and pulling the pants with the other. After a few moments Michael finally had them off, trying best to ignore the form-fitting black boxers that now greeted him.

"Shit Ryan, you are dead weight. Work with me here!" He leaned back over Ryan and patted his stomach a couple times. This was now his new favorite part of Ryan, so soft.

Ryan cracked open his eyes, "Mich, Michael.." and raised his hand to Michael's hair. 

"You shit, were you awake this whole time?"

"I like yourrr hair Michulll." Ryan's hand was threading through his hair, pulling a little too hard.

"Yeah, yeah. You dopey man. How are you so poised through the day then crash like this?" Michael was pulled closer by Ryan's persistent hair pulling. "I'm never drinking that fucking coffee if it does this crazy shit."

Ryan let go as he fell back asleep. 

Michael sighed. "Alright. Ok. Let's get you situated." He pulled the man up to the head of the bed and yanked the covers from under then over him.

He was still leaning over the bed staring at Ryan and couldn't resist the urge by leaning down to kiss Ryan's forehead. "Sleep well, my little shit." 

Michael stood back up, double checking Ryan was breathing and stepped back out into the kitchen. At the table were four chairs, he took one back to the bedroom and set it down by the wall. "I'm gonna sit here for a while, Ry-bread. Just do your thing and I'll do mine."

He sunk into the chair and watched the sleeping man. "You fuck, I'm exhausted." 

Pulling his comm from his back pocket he sought out the time, only 2:35 pm. He glanced back up at Ryan. "Well, since you're snoozin' I'm gonna take a nap, too-" Michael wiggled further down in his seat as he tried to get comfortable. "-in this rigid ass chair while you sleep in that giant ass bed." 

He glared at Ryan but thought best of actually joining him. Partners or not they've only known each other for a couple days. "Fuck."

Setting his comm on the floor, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. The day caught up with him and within minutes he was in a light slumber.

Michael didn't really dream, his sleep wasn't deep enough for that but his mind was unpacking everything that was thrown at it recently. He could picture the back hallways and Ryan's warm hands, Bernie and Gus talking to him over lunch, and trying to imagine what Matt and Jeremy were doing on the roof to catch that intruder. Maybe they work up there? Maybe they're security?

A noise kept distracting Michael's order of thoughts, a small chiming sound. He cracked open an eye and wondered how much time had gone by, it didn't seem like very long. His eyes shot open when he heard three more dings. Floating around him were multiple envelopes in various states of shaking. Some seem to have been there a while by the way they were spinning impatiently. 

Had something happened? He glanced over at Ryan who was on his side now facing away, then rose his arm and touched the green one he recognized as Gavin's.

"Micooooool! My boi I've heard the news! I'm so jealous but so happy for you. Who would have thought that sweet Micool would be Mr. Haywoods partner? I'll have so much to talk to you about now. We should do some bevs later, right? Bye!"

Oh. OH people knew already? There were so many envelopes, how long had it been? He picked up his comm and before he could even see the time an announcement popped up. 

'Breaking News! Our own Mr. Haywood has taken a partner, and you won't believe who it is!' It looked like an ad with Bernie's name in the bottom. Michael groaned. Then all of these messages were probably because of this. He swiped off the news and saw the time, 8:45 pm. 

"What the fuck?!" Michael set up straighter, the envelopes adjusting with him. "Oh god, oh my neck. And my back. Shit." He rubbed sorely at his neck.

He glanced up to another envelope that looked like it was going to explode, the dinging was now continuous. It was red with a black B on the front. Bernie, maybe?

Touching the edge exploded it into confetti. "Congratulations Michael!" It was Bernie. "Sorry I was a little harsh on you earlier, it really is an amazing feat to monopolize Haywood life you have. Hope everything's going alright with his tired ass. Good luck! Oh, also sent out a building wide message to announce your engagem-I mean partnership!" He was laughing. "Oh man, Michael, seriously we'll have a lot to do now so drop by the labs later. Barbara is demanding to see you asap but I told her to chill a bit. Have a good rest!" 

Well, great. "Uh comm, can I just listen to these messages later?" A different chime and quiet once more reigned over the room. In the silence Michael could hear Ryan's light snore.

He stood, pocketing his comm, then stretched trying to pop his back. "Ryan you're just gonna have to deal and let me share that bed next time. That was awful."

Ryan rolled over onto his back and shoved his arm up under his pillow, making the blankets slip down to his waist.

"You waking up?" Michael stepped over to the bed and looked down at Ryan, he wasn't snoring now but still looked asleep. Michael leaned over him further. "You sure you're not fucking with me, Ry-br--" He didn't get a chance to finish.

Ryan grabbed his shirt and flipped Michael over his body on to the bed, swinging with him. A sharp, slim blade was pressed to Michael's throat.

"RYAN. Fuck! It's me, Michael!" His talking caused the knife to nick his throat. "It's your partner. Hey!"  
Ryan's knees had pressed each of Michael's arms into the bed, his arm ready to slit the soft flesh in front of him. 

"Ry-bread wake up!" Michaels provocations clicked something in Ryan's brain. His face went from a fierce hatred to surprised horror. 

"Michael? Oh my god." Ryan tossed the knife to the floor and and leaned back off of Michael's arms. "Shit, I'm so sorry I've never had anyone in my apartment before that wasn't trying to kill me."

In the process of sitting up and shaking his numb arms Michael stopped. "What? Fuck." He pressed his hand to his throat, it stung pretty bad. 

"Michael, I'm sorry. I mean it. Oh man, Ok. I can help I have a first aid kit in the kitchen. Can you stand?"

"Yeah of course, it's just a little cut." He pulled his hand away and saw dark red smearing his hand, he could feel it trickle down his throat. "Uh..." How was he supposed to react to this?

Ryan saw panic rising in Michael's eyes. He immediately grabbed his wrist and helped pull Michael from the bed, dragging him into the kitchen. He pulled a chair out and plopped Michael into it. "Where's my fourth chair?" "I uh.. used it?" Michael was staring at his hand still. He wasn't used to seeing so much of his blood on the outside of his body. "Ryan?" His voice was shaky.

"Yeah buddy?" Ryan was digging in a cabinet by the stove, finding a red safety kit and walking back to Michael.

"How deep was it? Am I ok?" Michael pressed his hand back up to his neck, pain finally registering through the shock. "Shit."

Ryan pulled the hand away but paused. "Its fine. I didn't manage to hit any major artery, just superficial capillary damage. Really that's a flaw on my part. If you were really trying to kill me I wouldn't- uh." Ryan stopped mid-thought at Michael's stricken expression. "I mean, just, this will sting. It's fine, Michael."

He held up the sanitary cloth and swiped gently at the bloody slit along Michael's jugular. He hissed and pulled away but Ryan put a gentle hand on his shoulder holding him still. "I told you, don't pull back. Trust me."

"Trust the man who tried to slit my throat?" Michael weekly laughed but stopped when Ryan wilted. "No, no I was making fun, Ryan. It's fine, you aren't used to a partner and there I was hovering over you in bed."

Ryan continued to clean the blood from small wound, the blood coagulated quickly enough. "You have no reason to be sorry, you did nothing wrong, Michael." Next he pulled out a gel and smoothed a fingerfull across Michael's throat.

"Ah, that stuff actually makes it feel better." Michael hummed at the tingly sensation.

"That's a product from the labs, a healing gel that helps numb the pain and reduce scarring. It works amazingly." He held up a tube with the Niche symbol on it, the N with a square in the middle. 

"Awesome." He leaned his head back to give Ryan room as he spread a large, self-adhesive bandage across his throat. 

Ryan let his fingers linger there, pulling an apologetic face. "I am still very sorry, Michael." His hands hesitated, almost inching upwards towards the brown curly hair so close.

"What, not gonna tug on my hair?" Michael playfully slapped at Ryan's hands.

"What?" Ryan paused as he put away the supplies back into the kit. "I wouldn't, I mean, uh.. why would I be touching your hair?"

The cutest blush was creeping up Ryan's face, Michael was delighted. "Wait, you don't remember? When I undressing you for bed you were tugging on my hair telling me how much you liked it." 

Ryan was stark red now. "I do love the look of your hair, wait, that sounds creepy. I should say it's beautiful and I've been wanting to see how soft it is?" Did that sound any better?

"Wanting? Ryan you've been touchy-feely since this morning. You messed with my hair all day!"

"I what? Oh dear, I don't remember this. I must have been more out of it from the coffee stimulant than I realized." 

Michael was laughing. "Oh man, when you crashed you were like, drunk. Said you've been on that stuff for two days. Wait, does it have a name?"

"Oh. Ohhhhh. I've actually been drinking it before you got here, closer to four days. And it's officially called Ultra-coffee, but everyone hates that. Gus sucks at naming things." Ryan stood and packed back the first aid kit into the upper cabinet. 

"Yeah, we gotta work on that." Michael stopped. "Wh- FOUR days? Bernie and Gus said that was really, REALLY bad for you! What the fuck, man?"

Ryan shrugged. "I had a lot of work to do, things to set up, if I wanted my new employee to feel at home."

"God damn it, Ryan. Promise you will never do that again. That's crazy!" Michael stood and grabbed Ryan's shoulder, slightly shaking him.

They stared for an intense few moments before Ryan relented. "Fine. I find that I can't say no to you Michael." He lifted his hand again but stopped, Michael dropped his and laughed again.

"If you want to touch it that badly, go ahead. I don't give a damn." He leaned closer. "But seriously, you gotta hair fetish or something?"

Ryan raised his hand tentatively to Michael's hair, hesitating, then lowering his fingers to stroke the soft strands. "No, no. I've never wanted to touch anyone else's. Your's is just so curly," He dug his fingertips in and pulled them through, careful not to catch tangles. "and brilliant," He pulled at the curls, watching them bounce back before carding his fingers through it again. "and beautiful. I'm sorry I touched it so much before, when I'm that tired I tend to loose my inhibitions."

Michael was grinning. "Sounds like a fetish to me, mate. But, I do have to admit, it kind feels good?" He was leaning into Ryan's grip. "Kind of like a scalp massage, so no worries."

"Well, I wouldn't mind giving you a full one anytime. I'll offer up my personal services to your upmost pleasure." Ryan's voice dropped and his eyes connected with Michael's.

Wait. "There, you did that flirting thing again!" Time to attack.

"What?" Ryan withdrew his hand. "Flirting?" His face was back to red.

"Your voice goes all baritone and what you're saying sounds like an innuendo. Like you wanna make me feel upmost pleasure? Sounds like a sex thing." Michael shrugged.

"I.." Ryan looked shocked. "Have never been told something like that. I suppose I was using a customer service tone with you? I guess I could see the implications."

Michael could feel a cold sensation in his gut. Ryan was doing it without meaning to, it wasn't flirting. He sighed. "Yeah, it's fine. Just had to point it out I guess?" Back to his nervous laughter.

"Does it make you feel uncomfortable, Michael?" 

"Nah, it clears up some questions. No biggy."

"Questions?"

"Yeah, it's good now." He had to change the subject quickly. "So uh, you gonna stand around in your underwear all day?"

Ryan looked down in surprise. "Oh, you did mention you undressed me." He looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, again, Michael. I haven't wanted you to see me behave so unprofessionally but here I am." He waved to himself. "About as unprofessional as you can get."

"Well, depends on the profession I guess?" Michael was poking Ryan's tummy. "If you were a stripper up on a pole."

Ryan laughed finally. "I'm not sure that would be a good profession, I'm a bit clumsy." "What? With the way you flipped me over and had a knife at my throat, I thought you were a super spy or something. Super suaaave." Michael held out a hand with pinky extended, mimicking a martini glass.

"Like James Bond?" Ryan shook his head. "Fuck no, I never drink. I barely fight anymore. I'm getting soft in my old age." 

"Oh, you cussed!" Michael lit up. 

"I rarely cuss, I'm sorry." Ryan pulled back a bit from Michael. 

"What, no. Cuss more. I don't need you to be professional or whatever, just be yourself." Michael grinned. "At least when it's just us." 

Ryan smiled at him, it lit up the room and Michael felt his knees go weak. Yeah, he had it hard.

"Alright, Michael. As long as you do the same."

Michael started to agree but got cut off by a yawn. "Yahh- Yeah. I will."

"Are you getting tired?" Ryan's hand was already at Michael's shoulder, pulling him towards the bedroom. 

"Yeah, I slept for a few hours in the chair." 

Ryan looked down at the chair then shoved Michael towards the bed. "I see, well I for one could use a few more hours of sleep." He walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers.

"Uh, am I supposed to join you?" Michael nervously tugged at the bottom of his shirt. "Last time I did you ended up pinning me down." Well that sounded like an innuendo but Ryan didn't seem to notice.

Instead he leaned down and picked up the discarded knife. "Well, this time will be fine. I assure you I won't forget again." He chuckled as he retracted the knife into it's body and tucked it under the pillow in front of him. "Come now, take off what you need and get in bed. We need to sleep off these last couple days."

Michael swallowed but nodded, toeing off his tennis shoes and socks then pulled down his jeans. He left his tshirt on but felt awkward standing there in his boxers. "Can I just leave my clothes on the floor?" 

Ryan was snuggled up under the covers already. He pulled back Michael's side and shrugged. Michael climbed into the soft bed beside Ryan and flopped over to his back, pulling up the covers up around his neck. 

"Your neck doing ok?" Ryan turned over to face Michael, his hand lightly touching the bandage. 

Michael felt his face heat up. "Yeah, that gel stuff does great. Can't even feel it." 

"Good, it'll heal fast." He lifted his hand to pet Michael's hair as he yawned again. "Now get some sleep, my Michael." 

Michael grinned and Ryan rolled onto his back. For the first time he didn't pass out immediately and watched as the lights dimmed to a low glow. He turned over to watch Ryan as he drifted away. He must still be exhausted from four days of that crazy coffee. He closed his eyes and willed sleep to come, guessing that when they woke a flurry of activity awaited them.

He smiled, who would have thought he would end his day in the same bed as Ryan, his new partner? The last thing Michael remembers before he slips away is Ryan softly snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp! Michael is really struggling but he's giving it his best. These two are so lost for each other, it's fucking cute. Also, this is my spin on a fahc universe!
> 
> Thank you to the people commenting on each chapter, like fuck they don't lie when that really drives you to continue writing. (and makes me melt into a puddle omg you guys are too nice thankssss <3)


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